His grandfather and father were Marines, but Francis Bayer had other ideas about serving
his country—he wanted to fly. He enlisted in the Army in 1967 because it was the one
branch that guaranteed he would get into flight school. In Vietnam, Bayer flew
helicopters involved in troop insertions and reconnaissance, learning to improvise under
fire or in a tight spot. He is proud that in postwar tests of air-to-air combat situations,
tactics that he helped develop allowed his helicopter to outmaneuver Navy jets. He
continued flying after his service days, working rescue and medevac jobs.